Transition
by 9thDimen
Summary: A girl with military experience is thrown, or more like exploded, from our universe and taken to the Mass Effect Universe waking up in a Cerberus lab which indicates beginning of ME2. She continues on with the story expecting she will be taken back once she completes the mission itself. But she didn't expect to fall for a certain Turian that makes her question her motives. R/R
1. Chapter One: What the F

_Transition _

**Chapter One: What the F*****

_Bang. Bang. Bang._

The bombing sound of her Berretta M9 pistol would make a normal person flinch or coward in fear from its alarming sound it made from every shot. But for her, it was something she heard quite frequently while living the life in the military army.

Three more shots rang out, hitting the hay filled target once in the crotch and twice in the stomach.

The time was 1500, a downtime from duty. She was stationed in Iraqi, at a base named Delta One. She, like four others, were the bomb experts; AKA, make sure while on route to wherever, no one gets blown up into little pieces of human flesh.

"Remind me to never piss you off, Shepard," A familiar voice laughed behind her. She turned around while changing the clip of her pistol, smiling at the man who called her by her last name.

"And you're just learnin' this now, Schneider?" Shepard smiled toward her squad member, her friend. The skin around his deep brown eyes wrinkled into smiling crow's feet as the sides of his lips curled upwards. His shaggy, light brown hair swayed in the dry desert wind almost blending into the background sand and brush that lie behind them.

He laughed. "No, no I guess not."

Shepard turned back around and shot a couple more rounds into the hay filled dummy. "So, what's up? Somethin' on your mind?"

"Don't you ever get bored just shooting rounds into a dummy on your off time?" Schneider strolled up to her left side and crossed his arms. What caught Shepards's attention was the fact he was speaking in a tone much like a commercial.

"Your point?"

"We got a new drop shipment in."

"And?" Now this, got her attention.

"Ramien's mother was quite generous. It makes me wonder how she can get an Xbox in through regulations, but I guess when you work higher up in the chain regulations can be over look." Ramien came from a long line of Military of both sides of his family. There was always a lot expected out of him and he never disappointed.

Shepard rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "And I was positive that you had something more important to say, like a whole shipment of chocolate bars or something."

Schneider laughed. "You and your chocolate. I thought you liked to play Xbox?"

Shepard shrugged her shoulders and looked off toward the camp. "I've played my fair share of games. But knowing you guys you probably have war games like Modern Warfare or something along those lines." She wasn't very fond of so called "realistic" war games, especially when they are not anywhere near the real thing.

"Well, yeah, what did you expect?" Shepard shook her head but before she could get a word in, Schneider cut her off. "But I didn't say that was the only thing we have. We also have, Oblivion, the new batman game as well as Mass Effect 2…"

"Oh, well that's better I guess."

"Hey now, don't get to excited now." They both laughed as they headed back into camp.

In a way Shepard was excited to get her hands on a controller and play a game, forgetting her mistake of joining the army and being sent off to her own living nightmare. Something she would be grateful for. One night to relax and forget was a ticket passed overdue.

They entered their pathetic excuse of a camp, which only consisted of an old abandoned building surrounded by fencing in which only took a couple of hours to build for their own "protection", strolling on in to find five boys wrestling over the controller arguing over who was going to play first. Shepard shook her head and casually walked over to them and plucked the controller than was lying on the ground next to their playful banter and handed it to Schneider. "Looks like your turn, big guy." She winked.

It was nice to relax. It was common to have off nights to sit around and converse amongst each other about the war or whatever was on mind. Shepard was fond of playing card games and chest. Card games was a fifty/fifty chance of winning, but chest was something she always dominated at.

The night went on with game playing and chess. Schneider took the liberty and checked in on other encampments with the radio to make sure everything was in the clear. The time was 0200, the last two to be awake was Shepard and Schneider. Schneider already yawning.

"Aren't you tired?" he asked Shepard not even looking in her general direction as he leaned lazily back into his bunk.

Shepard shrugged her shoulders "Not really."

"Anything on your mind?" She shook her head no.

"Just go to bed, I'll follow you in an hour or so."

Schneider didn't need to be told twice. Ten minutes after he closed his eyes a light snoring noise could be heard coming from his mouth. Shepard smiled and looked around realizing she was indeed the last to be awake. She stood up and strolled over to the game system. Antonio, one that her team escorted around that was a normal assault patrol, sat back in his seat his head hanging off to the side; his mouth wide open and drooling. Shepard smiled and rolled her eyes. She very carefully took the game controller out of his hand and turned on the system. The game that was in was Oblivion. She opened the cartridge and took out the game placing it in its case. She looked through the games and saw Mass Effect 2.

She held the game in her hands thinking back on her own game file she played back home before she decided to join the army. She did, in fact, had fun playing that game. She remembered the story line quite well, she thought it had one of the best considering all the different species of Aliens, how well they were crafted, and how the gaming was engineered.

She popped the disk out and placed it into the cartridge in which she closed with her free hand.

Images flashed through the TV. The Normandy, Seth Green or AKA, joker; a giant rock like ship appearing out of nowhere ripping through the Normandy like it was butter. Crew members lying on the floor on fire. Then, she saw a female running through the wreckage… Liara, she remembered that she romanced her in the last game just for the heck of it. Then the game Shepard came onto the screen placing a helmet on her head before she could see her face. They slightly argued, Roger picking the "Paragon" options as they spoke. Then finally, Roger had control as she let her Shepard character jog through the wreckage trying her best to dodge explosions.

Then, she was in space. Shepard could tell the graphics were much more impressive in this game than the last. She grunted an improvement as she continued the game. Finally, she made it to Joker. He wanted to stay and land the Normandy safely. Shepard snorted and shook her head. By then she would have grabbed Joker by the arm and flung his limp ass body over her back and drag him back to the evac-ship. The game Shepard, not exactly doing what she had in mind, grabbed Joker by the arm and escorted him to the evac-ship. Joker made it inside safely, but an explosion went off and sent the game Shepard flying. Then in a few seconds Shepard was flying through space, her oxygen tank leaking air, drifting off into space toward a planet and disappearing.

Shepard blinked at the TV and smiled. Well, that was certainly a way to start off a game. She watched with amusement as machines worked on what she knew was the game Shepard's broken body, fixing her like new but with some extra cybernetic components.

The loading screen popped up and Shepard waited patiently for it to pass.

The ground below her began to shake, stop, then continued. Then, a loud ear-piercing screech shattered through the air forcing Shepard to cover her ears forcing everyone waking everyone up in the building. The first thing Shepard did was grab her pistol.

Then an explosion that came out of nowhere rocketed her off her feet, causing her to go flying and landing painfully on her side.

They were under attack.

"SHEPARD!?" Schneider yelled out her name as he searched for her. Shepard grunted and lifted her body off the ground waving her hand toward Schneider. He ran over to her grabbing her by the arm and helping her up. "Come on, we have to get out of here." He pushed her toward the now gaping hole. The ceiling was now collapsing on them. Shepard looked around and saw there were others still inside the building who are still alive.

"I can't leave them!"

"We don't have time!"

Shepard pushed away from him and ran over to the nearest person. Antonio yelled out in pain as Shepard picked him up and placed him over her shoulders. Something she did a lot during camp. She wouldn't have been allowed to have been deployed to Iraqi if she couldn't lift someone more than her own body weight over her shoulders.

The ceiling began to crumble and Shepard made a mad dash toward the exit. Schneider waited outside waving his arm for her to move faster. Then, another explosion rocketed through the building make it fall barely giving Shepard enough time to escape. She let Antonio down onto the ground and turned back toward the building.

It was demolished.

"Damn it!" She crumbled to her knees. All those people, her friends.

Gun fire whipped past them causing Shepard to fall to the ground and grab her pistol in both hands and fired. She watched three men, the enemy, fall to the ground lifeless. Schneider had Antonio in his grasp and dragged him into cover looking at Shepard to see where she was going. She took shelter behind rubble that use to be the wall of the temporary home. She looked over at Schneider and nodded when she saw him looking at her, telling him he was okay.

She could hear people screaming, more explosions rocketing through the place causing the ground to shake. The gunfire would no cease, as she looked around her bodies littered the ground both of the enemy and her squad.

She straightened out of cover for a second and shot, taking in her surroundings as she did so. When she was back in cover her eyes grew wide. Their situation was bad, really bad.

There was roughly twenty left of them, and about a hundred of the enemy.

They weren't going to make it.

Shepard shook her head and grimaced. She wasn't going down without a fight. She looked over at Schneider who also took a couple of shots and got a good, general idea of the situation. When he went back in cover his face was grim. He looked over toward her, she glared at him and he shook his head… But before he could do anything more another explosion rocketed toward him and Antonio disappearing in a blaze of fire.

"NO!" She screamed and ran in her direction. But before she could make it to her destination yet another explosion went off in front of her. Causing her to fly backwards for the second time. Her eyes were blinded, she could feel the blood filling them up.

She fell backwards, so far back that she was… falling.

What?

She didn't hit the ground. In fact, she was now falling head first down, down, and down.

Her heart raced with worry and hysteria, but she couldn't move, she couldn't even open her eyes.

She felt something touch her back. Suddenly she was lying flat on her back, her body was dumb, and she felt strange… Almost like she was on a lot of drugs right now.

Was this a trick? Was the some ploy from the enemy, some neural gas that makes her whole body go numb? That had to be it, there was no other explanation.

But, to her surprise, she started to get feeling back. She felt her eyes flutter open and…

"There. On the monitor. Something's wrong." A fuzzy voice said. It was almost hard to tell what the person was saying, but she knew it was a female.

"She's reacting to outside stimuli. Showing an awareness of her surrounds." Another person said, a man. He sounded surprised and worried. What? Was it wrong for her to wake up? Oh god, what if they are doing surgery to her! Taking all of her organs and as some cruel joke keeping her alive!

Her heart began to race, her breathing increasing. "Oh my god, Miranda. I think she's waking up." She saw a woman with too perfect hair a balled guy staring down at her. They were, American, English. Those bastards, those traitors!

The female began to speak again… Miranda… "Damn it. Wilson! She's not ready yet. Give her a sedative!" Her voice held authority.

Not ready yet? What the fuck is going on?

Shepard try to move, lifting her arm up to get away but the female, Miranda grabbed her arm and pushed it back down. She didn't use a lot of force, but in her situation she wouldn't have to. Damn it. She was pathetic.

"Shepard – don't try to move. Just lie still. Try to calm down."

Damn it. If she wanted to move she will move! No one but her commanding officer told her what to do.

"Heart rate still climbing. Brain activity is off the charts." Damn it, dude! Stop sounding so worried! The woman walked away out of her vision for a second as the man continued to speak. "Stats pushing into the red zone. It's not working.

She saw the woman again, looking at a computer. "Another dose. Now!"

Suddenly her vision began to blacken, her heart calming down, her head falling back. "Heart rate dropping. Stats falling back into normal range. That was too close. We almost lost her."

The female, Miranda, came into her view. She looked up at her, Shepard's world becoming a blur. "I told you your estimates were off. Run the numbers again." Miranda looked over at the man, her commanding voice would send shivers down a man's spine. Her kind of girl. Miranda looked down at her and smiled. Then finally, darkness took her once more. And instead of falling she feel in the better sweet of unconsciousness.

_Authors note: Hello everyone! I thought I would try this genre again. I know others have done the whole our world melding with the mass effect universe, but I wanted to try a different twist. Where the girl who takes over in-game Shepard has military training already. I still want to go through the game with the character having some experience or there wouldn't be much of a game. Can't wait for her to experience biotics! What should her class be? I would pick Vanguard or Adept, but what do you want to see._

_Please review! I love to read your reviews. Anonymous will have to be first accepted by me so if you give me an anonymous review you won't see if for possibly a full day._

_Can't wait for Garrus, ;)._


	2. Chapter Two: Memories

_Transition _

**Chapter Two: Memories**

"Wake up, commander," An accented voice rang through the fog. "Shepard do you hear me? Get out of that bed now – this facility is under attack."

Shepard eyes fluttered open. She tried to move but her whole body felt stiff like she went through a fifth of vodka in one sitting over night. She grabed her jaw moving it back and forth. That was what felt the most stiff, her jaw.

"Shepard. Your scars aren't healed, but I need you to get moving. This facility is under attack."

"You… You said that twice," Shepard mumbled out. She sat up, the fogginess dissipating. She could see gun fire through a glass window, the ground rumbling. Yes, they were indeed under attack. But, where the hell was she?

"Good. There's a pistol in the locker on the other side of the room. Hurry!" Shepard got up, holding her side from a sharp pain, but she ignored it. She located the locker and took a couple of wobbly, drunken like steps toward it. "Grab the pistol and armor from the locker." The voice demanded. Now that Shepard thought about it, she recognized that voice… but from where. Oh, yes! When she woke up on accident.

Wait.

Shepard opened the locker and took a hard look at the pistol and armor. It was like nothing she ever saw before. "What the hell is this?"

"We don't have time to play games, Shepard. Grab your armor and get a move on."

Shepard grabed the pistol and set it on the ground. Then she took out the grey pieces of armor gingerly. "How the hell am I supposed to put this on?"

The voice didn't say anything at first, as if thinking. "It's like your old armor. Do you not remember…"

"Remember what? Where am I? Who are you?"

The voice hesitated again. "Look. We don't have time to ask questions. First put your armor on, just follow the straps, it's not that hard to figure out. Once we get you out I will answer most of your questions."

Shepard looked outside the window again watching the bullets wiz past. "Fine. But you better answer them all when we meet."

Shepard tried her best to place the armor on her body. At first it was difficult, but once she got the chest plate on everything else strapped in easily.

"Okay, Shepard, now head out… hurry. Duck, those canisters are about to explode." Shepard ducked, watching as the weird ass looking canisters blew up. "Someone's hacking security trying to kill you. Look for a thermal clip for your pistol."

Thermal clip? On the ground Shepard noticed a cylinder looking… thing. She picked it up examining it. "Is this it?"

"…Yes, Shepard."

Ah, it went in like a normal clip would with a pistol. She went through the door and Miranda kept on talking. "Looks like they set up a barricade to try holding the mechs off."

Mechs?

Shepard barreled on through, leaping over the barricade and running toward the stairs. "Look out!"

There at the stairs was a robot. "What the fuck." It begun to shoot at her and within a couple of shots in the head it blew off, falling to the ground lifeless. Shepard walked over hesitantly, and bent down to examine the… mech.

How many centuries have she been asleep? Where the hell is she?

Shepard stood up and took a couple of steps back placing her hand over her forehead. What the fuck is happening?

"Shepard, we don't have time to stand around and gawk. Keep moving. We need to get you to the shuttles."

Shepard stood there for another second just staring down at the mech. Then, she shook her head and brought her pistol up, pointing it forward as she made her way up the stairs.

"Shepard! Security mechs are closing in on your position. Take cover. Don't take any chances. Stay in cover while you take out those mechs."

Shepard got shot. The bullet bounced off of some invisible force field, protecting her from the shot. Yep. She was indeed going insane. More bounced off her force field until finally, it disappeared. One bullet got her in the shoulder and she fell to the ground scrambling into cover. She held onto her arm. Damn. She definitely was not dreaming. That hurt like a bitch.

She grabbed her shoulder in pain, but suddenly the pain began to dissipate and she felt a cool liquid run over her shoulder. She glanced over and noticed that her shoulder had stopped bleeding. Actually, it felt good as new. She should be freaking out, but as bullets rang and ricochet off her cover she knew now wasn't a time.

How long has she been asleep?

Right now wasn't the time to think it over. She had to get the hell out of here.

Shepard took out the rest of the mechs with ease. Her pistol hitting its target. Well, at least she still had her training. "Nice work, Shepard. Coast is clear."

Shepard picked up more thermal clips putting them… Holy hell! They just connected to her side belt, like it was magnetized or something. _Okay, Shepard, _she thought to herself. _Just keep on moving. You will get your answers sooner or later. _

She walked through the doors to the next room. Through the window she saw a fire and… A giant ass mech taking down people. They shot at it but to no prevail. It slaughtered them like nothing. "Don't waste time." The females voice talked once more. "I can't keep the mechs distracted for long."

"But I just can't leave them!" Shepard watched as the last one fell. She looked at the giant mech. It stood there almost like it was staring back at her, mocking her. Then turned and walked away. Damn it. Was she going to have to face that later? Alone?

Shepard looked around and saw another door. She headed towards it until she was on a balcony of sorts. Miranda's voice chirped up again. "More reinforcements heading your way. Grab the grenade launcher off the security officer's body." Shepard glanced down and saw what she suspected was the grenade launcher. She picked it up and was quite surprised how light it was. "Here come the mechs. Use the grenade launcher to take them out."

"I think that is obvious." The mechs came through the door. Shepard pointed the grenade launcher and pulled the trigger. It took them out with ease.

"Take the elevator down one floor." She took the elevator down. Her grenade made a fire breech and it was jutting fire in front of her escape route. Before the female could say another word, Shepard ran through the fire without a second thought. The fire didn't even singe her. Something she knew the suite she was wearing was the one who protected her. Once she got out of there and got her answers, she'll ask if she can keep the suit for herself.

The females voice began to speak again, but this time it sounded scattered, out of range. "You're doing… - Shepard. Head to the… - meet you… Shepard? …read me? I've got… - closing in… - position."

"Hey! Hello?" Shepard called out but all she got was static. Damn it. She was on her own now.

Shepard followed through the door until she was in a hallway. She opened the door closest to her and saw two mechs crawling in the ground helpless. She ignored them and continued on. She went up some stairs and almost continued on through the door but a voice called out her name. She turned to her left and through the window she saw a guy standing there banging on the window. Shepard ran over to him and placed her hands on the glass. Behind him was that giant mech.

"Watch out!" Shepard yelled, pointing her finger at the mech.

The man turned around and took a step back until his back was against the wall. "No! Help! Help me!" He turned back around and looked at her with pleading eyes. Shepard aimed her gun towards the mechs head and fired. But to her horror, the glass was bullet proof. She watched the man fired upon by a grenade launcher and spilled into a million pieces.

Shepard looked away, closing her eyes from the horror.

She shook her head and headed for yet another weird door. When it opened she could hear gunfire. She saw a guy wearing a weird, sort of tight looking outfit as he shot at the mechs. She made her way over to him and once he saw her his jaw dropped. "Shepard? What the hell." She helped him dispatch the rest of the mechs.

They both ducked as more mechs came through. "What are you doing here? I thought you were still a work in progress."

"What do you mean a work in progress?" She asked coldly.

"I'll tell you everything once we get rid of the mechs. Just give the word, Shepard."

Shepard shook her head and stood up firing at the mechs. Suddenly Jacob turned ghostly blue and something came out of his hand making one of the mechs fly through the air. "What the hell?!" Shepard watched with amazement as it went flying and the guy shot it down. He did the rest with the other mechs, making them fly as he shot them down.

Okay. So she was in some kind of Star Wars universe.

When no more mechs where in sight, Shepard holstered her gun, or at least made it magnetize to her side and stared at Jacob. "How the hell did you do that?"

"Do what? Use my Biotics?"

"Biotics?"

"Shepard…" He hesitated. "What do you remember?"

Shepard glared at him. She looked away, turned around and looked around her… - Biotics. Why did that sound so familiar? She heard that before…

Then it hit her like a ton of bricks.

Mass Effect.

Memories started to flood her mind. She grabbed her head in pain. A hand grabbed her shoulder but she ripped her arm away and stumbled forward falling to the ground. Images flashed through her mind like a movie… No. More than a movie. It was like… Memories. Memories of what her – this Shepard's Body had done. It felt so real. Saren, loosing Ash, the Citadel, and Liara. The intimacy they had was so real, so – not foreign to her.

This could not be. This wasn't happening. How the hell could this happen? She was stuck in a game. A god fucking game for Christ sake! That had to be it, she had to be dead. But when she got hit in the shoulder it felt to real, like when she got shot on her first day on bomb patrol. She got shot in the opposite shoulder and that pain felt exactly the same.

Maybe her mind just made up that pain because it was something her body was expecting.

Or – or maybe it was some twisted, fucked up game someone was playing on her.

But how? She was right there when those mechs fell and none had strings attached to them and they were too small for anyone to fit inside. That, and too skinny.

Was that some cruel joke made by god? Some purgatory she was forced to live through?

More and more answers began to arise, she didn't even hear the man's voice calling out her name. At least, until her head snapped up and she stood up turning toward him, eyes wide. "What happened to me? Who are you?"

He hesitated at first, staring at her with worry. Then he finally spoke, "My name's Jacob Taylor. You and your ship were attacked and destroyed. You were killed. Dead as dead can be when they brought you here. Our scientist spent the last two years putting you back together. You've been comatose, or worse, that whole time. Welcome back to your life. Hopefully."

"Yeah…" She didn't say anything more. What could she say?

"Are you okay, Shepard? I may not be a scientist but you seemed to be in a lot of pain."

Shepard nodded her head. "I'm fine… it's just… Okay, I'll tell you the truth. I don't exactly remember everything up to the point when I woke up…"

"What? Are you telling me you don't remember anything? Not even the fact that you are Commander Shepard?"

That made her flinch. "Hey, hold your horses. I didn't say I don't remember nothing at all. I do remember taking down Saren, saving the citadel and the council. I remember my crew…"

"But everything before that is a blur?"

Shepard nodded her head and they both fell silent. Okay, she didn't tell the whole truth, but if god wanted to fuck her in the ass then she'll play along. She'll play along for however long he/she wanted her to. Or at least until she got out of this hell hole and see if the whole situation was indeed a joke. That somewhere there were invisible strings attached and this was just a cruel.

"Well, this will complicate things. But for now I think we need to get out of here. Once gone, we'll see if we can sort things out. Maybe you're just having a side effect from waking up earlier than expected."

Shepard nodded her head like she agreed.

"Check. Check." A familiar voice came over the comm. Jacob looked down at his… omni-tool? Yeah. That was what it was called. "Anyone on this frequency? Anybody still alive out there? Hello?

Jacob responded. "Wilson? This is Jacob. I'm here with Commander Shepard. Just took out a wave of mechs over in D Wing."

"Shepard's alive? How the hell…" He didn't sound pleased. "Never mind. You need to get her out of there. Get to the service tunnel and head for the network control room."

"Roger that, Wilson. Stay on this frequency."

"Who was that? He sounded familiar."

"He's the chief medical tech. Answers directly to Miranda."

Miranda! That who that voice was. She was there when I first woke up, so was that Wilson dude.

"Come on. Service tunnel is this way." Jacob pointed to the door behind him. Shepard took it without hesitation. They made their way to a reddish room. "Damn it. Wilson! This room is crawling with mechs!"

"The whole station is crawling with mechs! I'm doing the best I can!"

Shepard aimed her gun towards the mechs head. Every shot counted as they made impact, taking out the mechs with ease.

"Well, Shepard. I'm glad you still can shoot."

"Yeah, well, that's something you can't lose." She winked at him and went through the next door.

"Yeah, well if we run into anymore mechs I'll just stand behind you."

Shepard loaded up another heat sink and smiled. "So do you let all your women do the dirty work?"

Jacob laughed. "Only you."

"Oh. A ladies man."

They continued on through – oh, look, another hallway. Up a pair of stairs and to yet another door. What a surprise!

The door opened. "Jacob. Shepard. Down here." Wilson called out. He was on the floor wounded. A deep gash running down his right leg. "Bastards got me in the leg."

"Hey, I remember you. You were there when I first woke up!" She made it sound like a bad thing.

"Yeah. That was me. How about we talk about this after we fix my leg?"

"Should be some medi-gel in the first aid station on the wall," Jacob said. "Hopefully there's enough to get him up and moving again."

Shepard grabbed the medi-gel pouch from the wall and walked back giving it to Jacob. He opened up a container to some blue looking gel and applied it to Wilson's gash. And just like that, it began to heal, almost like little tiny robots were working together to sow back every tendon and skin particles back together. She couldn't help but watch with amazement.

Wilson slowly got up, testing out his leg as he did so. "Thanks, Shepard. Never thought you'd save my life. Guess that makes us even now." Hell no it didn't. If she remember correctly, she stopped the geth from destroying colonies and taking over the damned galaxy. On top of that she stopped the tick looking cockroach from taking over the citadel and bring the Reapers onto his ass. He may have reconstructed her… Commander Shepard, but he still had another debt to pay if he was going to act like that. Asshole.

"I thought maybe I could shut down the security mechs," He continued. "But whoever did this fried the whole system. Completely irreversible."

"We didn't ask what you were doing," Jacob came in for the rescue sounding accusingly. "Why do you even have security mech clearance? You were in the bio wing." Why indeed. Shepard acted like she understood everything they were talking about.

"Weren't you listening?" Wilson tried to defend himself. "I came here to try and fix this. Besides, I was shot! How do you explain that?" That gash on his leg didn't look like a gun fire wound to her.

"You guys are retards. How about instead of fighting like little children let's try to get our asses out of here. I rather not get shot and lie on the ground like a pussy." Harsh, but it was the truth.

"Um… right, Shepard. We need to find Miranda. We can't leave her behind."

"Forget about Miranda. She was over in D wing. The mechs were all over that sector. There's no way she survived." Wilson, you jackass.

"A bunch of mechs won't drop Miranda. She's alive," Jacob defended her. Hm, wonder what's going on between the two.

"Then where is she? Why haven't we heard from her? There are only two possible explanations: she's either dead… or she's a traitor."

"Fuck off, Wilson. She was helping me earlier when I first woke up. Explain that, moron."

He glared at her. "Okay, maybe she's not a traitor. But that doesn't change the facts. We're here, she's not. We need to save ourselves. The shuttle bay is only a few…"

Mechs came blasting in. She took cover before her force field… or erm, shield, she suppose, was lost. Wilson used overload, something she somehow remembered. Damn it. Memories were still flooding her mind. She just needed to stop thinking until she got her ass out of there.

When all was done and Shepard made her way to the exit but Jacob began to speak to her again. She rolled her eyes and turned to face him. "Ok, we took 'em down, but this is getting tense. Shepard, if I tell you who we work for, will you trust me?" Yeah, if I remember dumbass.

"This really isn't the time, Jacob," Wilson interjected.

"We won't make it if she's expecting a shot in the back."

"If you want to piss off the boss, it's your ass, Jacob."

"The Lazarus Project, the program that rebuilt you… it's funded and controlled by Cerberus."

Memories flooded her mind once more. Different planets that was overrun by Rachni and Cerberus was involved, stationed with dead people and abandoned that belonged to Cerberus.

"Look," Shepard said getting frustrated. "That's fine. I'll kick your ass when we get off this hell hole."

"Once we're off the station, I'll take you to the Illusive Man. He'll explain everything. I promise."

"Good. Now let's go."

"He spent a lot of money and time bringing you back. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to tell you whatever you want to know."

"Sure, whatever, let's move!"

The next room was – oh her goshers, more mechs! What a surprise. Shepard tried her best not to crack a smile. Sure, it was repetitive, but it was still fun to shoot down weak enemies. It reminded her more of her off time shooting hay filled dummies. Basically the only thing that got her mind off the war.

She wondered how Schneider was doing, in whatever universe or outside her imagination he was at. Once she got away from the messed up, mech filled place she was going to go back to where their encampment was settled for the time being…

More the she thought about it, the more unlikely she thought she was going to find anything.

What if she was actually stuck in the mass effect universe? Schneider, all her friends, her family, would all be dead… erm, never existed…

She didn't know what to think of it. For now, she had to get out.

Once they cleared out the mechs, Wilson ran forward to a door and began to play with the controls. "C'mon, through here. We're almost at the…" The door opened revealing a woman that Shepard remembered when she first woke up… "Miranda! But… you were…"

Miranda held up her gun and shot Wilson in the chest, killing him instantly. Shepard watched his dead body hit the ground.

"Dead?" Miranda finished his sentence.

Jacob ran over and looked at Wilson's body. "What the hell are you doing?"

"My job. Wilson betrayed us all."

Sweet. "I knew there was something wrong with him. He seemed a little too disappointed I was alive."

"Good Instincts," Miranda approved. "Come on. Let's grab this shuttle and get out of here. My boss wants to speak to you."

"Finally!" Shepard said exasperated as she walked passed Miranda and to the shuttles.

And to Shepard's worse nightmare coming into a reality. They took off in a shuttle into the deep dark, lonely space. She watched as they zipped pass… utter blackness.

So. She was indeed stuck in the mass effect universe. No way could anyone fake a takeoff like that.

Miranda began to speak. "Before you meet with my boss, we need to ask a few questions to evaluate your condition."

"I agree with Miranda. Even though you took down those mechs without any trouble, - even I question your state of mind." Jacob agreed.

Shepard glared at him. "I'm fine."

Miranda turned her attention toward Jacob. "What do you mean, Jacob?"

"Shepard has some memory issues. Her fighting skills are still superb, but her memory was lacking. She remembers stuff like saving the citadel, but anything before her fight against Saren…"

Miranda looked back at Shepard, evaluating. "I see. Well after two years anything could be possible. Regardless, the Illusive man still wants the questions asked. He will make the final judge if she's ready. No matter what you or I think. But," she looked Shepard straight in the eyes. "If I was the Illusive man I would put you under again and see if we could fix this issue. I wouldn't be surprised if he does."

Shepard glared at her but didn't say anything more.

"Okay…" Jacob looked down at his omni-tool and began to ask a question. "Records show you grew up on earth. Tough environment, no parents. You enlisted and led troops during some heavy fighting, most notably on Torfan. Do you remember taking on some bartarian slavers?"

Memories flashed through her mind once more. Gun fire, weird looking aliens with four eyes falling to the ground, lifeless due from her hands…

"Yes… I sent a lot of good soldiers to their deaths… from my orders."

"You got the job done. That's all the matters."

Miranda was the next one to speak. "Virmire, where you destroyed Saren's cloning facility. You had to leave one of your squad behind to die in the blast."

"Ash…" Shepard whispered. The pain resurfaced, the sleepless nights. The tossing and turning, the whispers in her sleep. "She was a good soldier, one of the best. I had to make a decision, but if I could have saved them all I would have." She didn't like this. She didn't like feeling grief for someone she actually didn't know. But… the memories kept on playing through her mind, like they were her owns. Damn it. Why her?

"It was a tough call," Jacob sounded sincere.

"Yes… yes it was."

"Let's try something else," Miranda interjected, not caring. "Shepard, think back to the Citadel, after the Alliance saved Destiny Ascension, and you killed Saren. What happened next?"

Memories. "Captain Anderson was elected for a council seat. No way in hell was I going to let that Udina bastard allowed to become humanities voice."

Miranda nodded. "Your memory seems solid. There are other tests we really should run."

Jacob shook his head. "Come on, Miranda. Enough with the quizzes. The memories are there, buried deep, but are still there. I can vouch for Shepard's combat skills personally."

"I suppose you're right. We'll have to hope the Illusive man accepts our little field test as evidence enough." For some odd reason Shepard thought that had two meanings behind her words.

Even though she had a nice ass and body, she was still a bitch.

* * *

_Author's Note: Yes, I know I recapped a lot of the games dialogue, but I didn't have a choice. Hopefully you understand. I tried my best to make Shepard normal and not just jump into the game like other people who's done what I've done. So far I have one request to be an Adept, anyone else want to see an Adept class too or something different?_

_Let me know what you think. I'll reply back to your reviews if they are signed!_


	3. Chapter Three: Freedom's Progress

_Transition _

**Chapter Three: Freedom's Progress**

Shepard looked out the window. To her amazement she saw a giant ass ship station floating over a planet's atmosphere. She looked at the planet closely. To her disappointment, it was not earth. Hopefully, this Illusive man knew what the hell was going on. Maybe, just maybe, he knew why she was stuck in this Shepard's body.

But she knew that he wouldn't know. Nobody would.

She was taken into a room with Miranda and Jacob. There were more Cerberus men and women on this station. She was more relieved to see they weren't getting fired upon and… dying. Even if this wasn't her world, she still cared about the lives of people around her. Especially when she was incapable of saving them… just watching them die.

Memories tried to resurface to her mind of the other Shepard, but she pushed them back. She didn't want to feel even crappier than what she already was. This was her body, she didn't want to feel someone else's emotions.

"The Illusive Man is waiting for you in the other room," Miranda said as Shepard walked passed her.

Shepard nodded her head. She headed straight downstairs, not stopping to talk to either too. "What the…?" Shepard walked into an empty room. Was this supposed to be some kind of joke? Where was the Illusive man?

Shepard walked forward. On the ground was a strange circular bluey device. She walked into it. It began to hum and an orange scanning thing appeared around her. She turned around to look. She stuck her hand through to make sure it wasn't some sort of damn force field dingy-ma-ho. The thing began to scan her then the orange walls began to shift, showing an image of yet another room around her.

"Commander Shepard," a voice hummed around her. She turned around and saw a man sitting in a chair smoking a cigarette.

"Illusive Man? Heh, too much of wimp to come see me face to face," Shepard mocked.

"A necessary precaution," He ignored the rude comment. "Not unusual for people who know what you and I know."

"Ooookaaaay. So I heard you have answers for me. Start talking freaky eyes."

He smiled. He found her aggressive behavior quite amusing. "You're probably wondering why I brought you back, Shepard." When she didn't respond he continued. "For the defense and preservation of humanity. I didn't spend two years and billions of credits bringing you back to serve as a common soldier. But humanity is up against the greatest threat of our brief existence."

"I'm guessing you're talking about the Reapers?"

"Good to see you memory's still intact. At least, from what I heard. How are you feeling?"

"Look, I'm not here to be your friend or to talk small talk with you. What do you want me to do so I can get the hell out of here and save the galaxy or whatever I have to do to get my ass back home?"

"We're at war. No one wants to admit it, but humanity is under attack." He stood up now and walked his hologram over toward Shepard. She could have sworn she smelt brandy on his breath, but she knew it was just her imagination playing tricks on her like usual. "While you've been sleeping entire colonies have been disappearing. Human colonies. We believe it's someone working for the Reapers. Just as Saren and the geth aided Sovereign. You've seen it yourself. You bested all of them. That's just one reason we chose you."

She wanted to ask him why he spent that much money, or credits, on her. He could have funded his own army to do the dirty work not just her. But she didn't want to waste any more time with crazy blue-eye man.

"Enough with the talk. I'm guessing you had the speech all ready to go before I even came."

"Nice to see your personality hasn't change. Miranda was worried you'd be resistant. She's not usually wrong." He turned away from her, walking over toward the window that showed a massive sun. Was it fake? Most likely. He seemed to be one of those guys that like to show off flashy things so no one doesn't notice his small dick. "I have a shuttle ready to take you to Freedom's Progress, the latest colony to be abducted. Miranda and Jacob will brief you."

"Fine. After that I can do what I want? Or at least go where I please when this mission is over before starting the next."

"Of course Shepard, you are not under house arrest. Once we evaluate the situation and know what we are up against I'll give you your own _ship _and crew to command." He was sitting back down taking another drag at his cigarette.

So, this was going to be like the last game. Good. She can go to earth and see… she didn't know what she wanted to see…

"But first, find any clues you can. Who's abducting the colonies? Do they have any connection to the Reapers? I brought you back. It's up to you to do the rest."

His image disappeared as well as the orange digital walls. She stood there thinking. She was disappointed. A part of her wanted the Illusive man to know why she was in this predicament. The other part knew he was just another character in this game that was just reading a script.

Shepard sat patiently in the shuttle with Miranda and Jacob. She thought deeply about the events that came to pass.

"We should be there shortly, Shepard. The Illusive Man put us under your command." Shepard noticed a hint of resentment under Miranda's tone of voice. "Do you have any orders?"

"Okay. Let's get this over with."

They landed. Shepard was the first to take a step out. Snow fluttered down hitting the ground and then disappearing. She held her palm up and watched a snow flake fall onto her hand and then disappearing into a small drop of water.

It remaindered her of home.

Shepard grabbed her assault rifle and moved forward, Miranda and Jacob following close behind. In front of her was what looked like… someone home, or maybe a mess hall? She couldn't tell. When she entered there was no one there except uneaten food on the table. Shepard walked over to the food and examined it.

"Looks like everyone got up and left right in the middle of dinner," Jacob said next to Shepard as they both examined the food.

"No struggle either. They must have left with their own free will. The food isn't scattered, still neatly on the plate," Shepard added. "Let's keep moving. Nothing to see here."

All three walked out in the opposite side of the building. Shepard opened the door and walked out. The courtyard was deserted. "Strange." Miranda looked around. "No bodies. No structural damage. No signs of battle."

There was a giant door that lead to another area. As soon as Shepard opened she was fired upon. She ran forward and to cover before her shield was lost.

"Hear that?" Jacob said. "Sounds like FENRIS mechs."

She didn't know what FENRIS mechs meant and she didn't care to find out. She took out the mechs that was on the other side of here. Once they were dealt with dog like mechs came charging in. they charged toward Shepard, taking out her shields instantly. She was fired upon. Some hit her armor and ricocheted off, others hit the minor holes where her plates ended to make better movability. She seethed in pain but ignored it as best she could as she shot down the mech dogs.

Jacob looked the mechs over. "Those mechs shouldn't have been hostile. They should have recognized us as humans."

"Someone reprogrammed them to attack on sight. Where not alone here." Miranda added.

"Let's go." Shepard commanded.

"Commander. Out of curiosity, why don't you use your biotics?" Miranda asked.

Shepard turned to look at her confused.

She had biotics. "Um… er… didn't feel like it."

Miranda didn't say anything. Her eyes analyzing Shepard. "Come on," Shepard rolled her eyes and turned back around. She went through yet another building, almost the same as the last one. This one was full of beds. Outside were more mechs. It only took a couple of shots to take them out. She went through the door that they seemed to be protecting.

Inside were people… no. Quarians, as she recalled, huddled around a hologram. When they saw her enter they raised their guns and advanced on Shepard. "Stop right there!" One yelled at her.

Shepard and her team raised their weapons, mimicking the Quarians.

A familiar voice rang through the air and a female Quarian with a purple suit came over pushing down the weapons of what Shepard suspected was her team mates. "Prazza! You said you'd let me handle this!" The Quarian female looked over at Shepard. "Wait… Shepard?"

"I'm not taking any chances with Cerberus operatives!" The one named Prazza threatened.

The Quarian – Tali, spoke again with a demanding tone. "Put those weapons down!"

Shepard was suddenly overwhelmed with feelings of happiness. The joy she felt as soon as she realized it was Tali, her friend. But, was she indeed her friend? Shepard didn't know. These weren't her feelings she was feeling.

Or was it?

"Shepard…" Tali started, her voice confused and hopeful. "Is that… you're alive?"

"Tali!" She couldn't help but let the overwhelming power of her emotions leak out. Yet again, more memories began to resurface. Her night spend laughing with the Quarian in the engine room. How Shepard invited her to her cabin to have a girls night out. She had to admit, Tali was one of her favorite characters from the first game. She always had Tali and Garrus on her team when she went against the Geth. "It's great to see you! I'm… I'm happy to see you."

Tali nodded. "Likewise Shepard. But, what are you doing with Cerberus?" Tali, at first, had the same hearty reaction as Shepard, but when she spoke of Cerberus her tone turned accusingly.

Something was telling Shepard that Tali didn't like Cerberus too much. "They brought me back to life. Other than that, I'm not with them. Once I figure out why this colony was attacked I'm getting out of here…" She could even hear the falsehood in her own voice. "Why are you here?"

"One of our people was here on a Pilgrimage. His name was Veetor. We came to find him. When he saw us landing he hid in a warehouse on the far side of town. We suspect he also programmed the mechs to attack anything that moves."

Prazza stepped closer to Tali. He looked like he was going to grab Tali's arm in anger but he thought better of it when he placed his arm back firmly to his side. "Tali! You're giving away everything!"

"Prazza! You're out of line. We can trust shepard."

Shepard nodded. "Look. I don't plan on doing any harm to him, I just want to know what happened here. That's all. We can take it from here."

Prazza shook his head. "Like hell! I'm not letting Cerberus take over!" He took a threatening step forward. Even though Shepard couldn't see his face she could have sworn she saw the anger heat up his mask.

"Neither am I, Prazza." Tali agreed. "I don't want to fight you, Shepard, but I can't just let Cerberus handle this. Besides, we need to work together." Shepard nodded her head and Tali continued to speak, giving directions. "Head for the warehouse through the center of the colony. We'll circle around the far side and draw off some of the drones to clear a path.

"Sounds like a plan." Shepard smiled.

Tali nodded as well. "See you on the far side. I'll keep on radio contact."

Before Tali could turn around Shepard added, "Looks like someone has grown up a lot since the last time I've seen her." She couldn't help but feel proud of her. Damn these feelings.

Shepard could have sworn she saw a smile behind her helmet. "Two years is a long time, Shepard. A lot of things have changed. You may be surprised."

Shepard nodded. They both left each other, Tali leading her squad, Shepard doing the same with hers.

On her way to her destination she ran into some drones, Miranda using overload. Shepard was glad she had a techy on her team. She didn't want to have to deal with all the technical stuff, especially since she had no idea what the hell she would be doing. That would be embarrassing… also a mission fail.

Not too far to her destination Tali's worried voice came through the radio. "Shepard! Prazza and his squad rushed on ahead. I told them to wait, but they wouldn't listen. They want to find Veetor and take him away before your get there."

"We should have expected this," the wonderful Miranda chimed in.

"Come on!" Jacob added. "We can still catch them."

Down a couple of flight of stairs… more drones… then finally she came up to a giant door. Behind it was where her destination was at.

Tali's came through the radio again. "Hurry, Shepard! We're inside the loading docks. Veetor reprogrammed a heavy mech! It's tearing Prazza's squad apart!"

"They did want to get to Veetor first," Miranda's snide voice said from behind Shepard.

"Shut it, Miranda," Shepard Sneered.

Tali continued. "Get your squad into cover and I'll open the loading bay doors."

Shepard nodded at the two and they took up spots on either side of the door. Tali opened the door and Shepard watched as the squad of Quarian's got slaughtered. The heavy mech was the same kind of mech that was at the last facility killing everyone.

Shepard's heart began to race. She was – scared.

Jacob and Miranda went running in without fear. Shepard stood there frightened.

"That mech's got heavy armor plating. Those quarians never stood a chance," Jacob said non-caring.

"This is going to be one tough son-of-a-bitch to take down," Miranda agreed. She looked over and Shepard. "What are you doing, Shepard!?"

Shepard still stood there looking at the mech. Her legs would not move. Her eyes trained on the mech.

The mech noticed her, aimed its canon and fired. Shepard flew back on impact, her shields completely obliterated. It knocked the wind out of her. She rolled onto her side coughing and then scrambled into cover.

"Are you okay, Commander?" Jacob yelled.

Shepard shook her head and took a deep breath. She felt the cool liquid of the medi-gel coursing through her suit, repairing every little scrap and cut she endured.

Snap out of it, Shepard!

"Miranda!" She began to order. "Keep on using overload at any second you can. Jacob! Do not let up on the shooting." Shepard took her grenade launcher out and waited. Once the shield were gone she aimed her grenade launcher using all of her ammo, then switched to her rifle, taking down the armor. In ten minutes, the mech was taken care of.

"Well," Shepard breathed in heavily while smiling. "That was easier than I thought."

"Nice work," Miranda nodded, trying to congratulate her. "For a second there I thought you zoned out on us."

"No," Shepard lied. "I was thinking on a strategy and that damn thing made me take a rocket to my face."

"Thankfully, you had your shield up."

"Okay. Now where the hell is that bastard Veetor at?" Shepard led her squad to the only building that was assessable.

As soon as she opened a door she saw a quarian sitting at a screen, typing – and talking to himself. "Monsters coming back. Mechs will protect. Safe from swarms. Have to hide. No monsters. No swarms. No-no-no-no-no."

He sounded scared, frightened, and delirious. Shepard's slight rage dissipated after realizing what condition he was in. "Veetor?" She said softly, not wanting to startle him.

In a way he did hear her. "No Veetor. Not here. Swarms can't find. Monsters coming. Have to hid."

"Veetor…" Shepard couldn't help but feel sorry for him. She stepped close to him and turned his chair around quickly grabbing his hands when he tried to get up and possibly freak out. "I'm not here to hurt you. You're okay. Calm down, Veetor. You're safe now. I won't let anyone hurt you."

She dealt with someone like this before.

"You're…" He began to calm down. Shepard let his hands go and took a step back with her squad. "Not one of them. You're human. They… they didn't find you?"

"Who didn't find us?" Miranda asked.

"The… the monsters. The swarms. They took everyone." He sounded like a frightened child.

"Don't worry, Veetor. I'm here to protect you. Just tell me what happened? Okay?" Shepard thought she started to sound like a mom.

"You don't know. You didn't see. But I see everything." He began to tamper with the computer and the nine screens turned into one image.

"Looks like security footage." Well, no dip, Miranda. "He must've pieced it together manually."

"What the hell is that?" Jacon asked referring to pod looking things in the footage as well as a bug, insect Alien.

"My god. I think it's a Collector." Miranda said.

"Collector?" Shepard had no idea what they were talking about.

Jacon began to explain. "They're a species from somewhere beyond the Omega 4 relay. Only a few people have ever seen one in person.

"They usually work through intermediaries like slavers or hired mercenaries." Miranda added. "If they're involved with the Reapers somehow, it could explain what happened to the colonies.

"The collectors have advance technology. They could have a weapon that disables an entire settlement at once."

Veetor began to fidget. "The seeker swarms. No one can hide. The seekers find you. Freeze you. Then monsters take you away."

"You think you can tell us what happened next, Veetor?" Shepard could feel the stares of Jacon and Miranda on the back of her head. What?

"The monsters took people onto the ship, and then they left. The ship flew away. But they'll be back for me. No one escapes!"

"Over my dead body, Veetor. You did well on telling us. Thank you."

"I studied them. The monsters. The swarms. I recorded them with the omni-tool. Lots of readings. Electro-magnetic. Dark energy."

Miranda stepped forward, like she was going to take charge. "We need to get this data to the Illusive man. Grab the quarian and call the shuttle to come pick us up."

Tali came walking in, and she didn't sound happy. "What? Veetor is injured! He needs treatment, not an interrogation!"

"We won't hurt him," Jacob tried to reassure her. "We just need to see if he knows anything else. He'll be returned unharmed."

"Your people tried to betray us once already." And of course, Miranda to the rescue… "If we give him to you, we'll never get the intel we need."

"Prazza was an idiot, and he and his men paid for it." Tali argued. "You're welcome to take Veetor's omni-tool data, but please, just let me take him."

"There's no question about it, Tali. He goes with his people," Shepard agreed.

"Thank you, Shepard. I'm glad you're still the one giving orders. Good luck out there. If I find anything that can help you, I'll let you know."

"Thank you, Tali."

* * *

The Illusive man congratulated Shepard on her good work. He explained the Omega 4 relay and the collectors. He gave her dossiers of a list of "soldiers, scientists, and mercenaries", the best of the best.

"Two things before you go. First, head to Omega and find Mordin Solus. He's a brilliant Salarian scientist. Our intelligence suggest he may know how to counteract the Collectors paralyzing seeker swarms."

"Second?" She was getting annoyed.

"I've found a pilot I think you might like. I hear he's one of the best. Someone you can trust."

And just like that he disappeared. As the orange digital walls began to fade, she heard footsteps behind her. She quickly turned around, expecting trouble, and saw Joker.

"Hey, Commander. Just like old times, huh?"

She suddenly had an overwhelming feeling to jump onto him and kiss his scruffy cheeks. But she resisted.

They walked together as she followed him to wherever he was taking her.

"I can't believe it's you, you little bastard. Been awhile."

"Looks who's talking. I saw you get spaced." There's Joker making jokes.

"Yeah, I got better. How the hell you get here… with Cerberus?"

"It all fell apart without you, Commander. Everything you stirred up, the Council just wanted it gone. Team was broken up, records sealed, and I was grounded. The alliance took away the only thing that mattered to me. Hell yeah I joined Cerberus."

"Do you trust the Illusive man?"

Joker took her over to a window. "I don't trust anyone who makes more than I do. But they aren't all bad. Saved your life. Let me fly – and there's this. They only told me last night."

The lights flickered on. Shepard could feel her heart skip a beat. It was bigger, longer, and faster looking, (lol). Another Normandy!

"It's good to be home, huh, Commander? Okay. Where to next, Commander?"

"Where going to earth. I need to check on something."

* * *

_Authors note: This will be the last chapter I will follow the script. I have big plans for the future so stayed tuned. Review! I am NOT PROOF-reading the chapter until tomorrow. I'm impatient so I'm putting this chapter up tonight. I'll fix the mistakes tomorrow and delete this little tid-bit. _


	4. Chapter Four: Numb

_Transition _

**Chapter Four: Numb**

And just like that she was fucked. Yep. Destiny decided to take his big, long dick and decided screw her over in the ass. Of course, she wasn't surprised either. Just the thought of being stuck in a video game was now taking its full weight onto her.

When they made it to earth it wasn't anything she remembered it to be. Everything seemed whiter, and cleaner. As soon as they landed they left immediately. She didn't have to see anymore.

She didn't even bother to look up Schneider.

And just like that she went to Omega, talked to an Asari about how she was the boss… yada, yada, yada. She sort of zoned out half of what she was saying. The only thing she listened to was the information about Archangel and Mordin Solus. She decided to go after Archangel since he seemed to be the one in more dire need of her assistance.

After turning a giant mech that still ran shivers down her spine to their side, taking down mercs, she found out Archangel was actually Garrus. The same joy she felt when seeing Tali resurfaced, she wanted to jump into his arms and let him swing her around, (even memories of him doing so plagued her mind momentarily), but she held back her excitement. She had to admit, Garrus was one of her favorite characters from the first series. She always admired the work they've done to him and the Turian race. They seemed to have put the most thought into his design than the rest of the alien races.

She stood by his side during the entire mission. She let Jacob and Miranda go take down the mercs in the other room while she and Garrus had fun taking down their own mercs on their own. Garrus spoke of old times which was a relief to hear. So, the in-game Shepard and she still had somewhat of the same personality.

But then when a rocket came and took him down her heart plummeted. She wanted to go see if he was okay by the mercs would not stop coming. Seeing him crawl into cover, hurt, afraid, made something in her snap. It wasn't the fact that he was one of her favorite characters, or even the fact that the in-game Shepards' emotions decided to embark into her own. No. She didn't like… no, she hated to see someone get hurt. She hated to not have the power to go save them, to be by their side to tell them they were going to be all right.

And now since she was in command, she took it as a blow to her pride. Was she truly a bad leader?

When she destroyed the ship she instantly ran to his side. He wasn't breathing at first, but after she touched his face he began to breathe… choking on his own blood. Jacob said he wasn't going to make it and she ended up punching him in the face, not caring if he ever forgave her or trusted her. He didn't have any right to say that, especially when he was right there conscious!

They brought him to the med-bay. Dr. Chakwas wouldn't let her stay in there so she waited outside pacing back and forth, her arms crossed ignoring anyone who tried to talk to her.

But when he came out of the med-bay, with protests from Dr. Chakwas, her heart lifted. He was going to be okay. He wasn't going to die.

So, she yelled at him. Called him an idiot to go to Omega and put himself in that situation. If she didn't arrive when she did he would have died. And he just stood there, listening to her rant. When all was said, he began to joke with her about his face.

Normally she would have slapped him and told him this wasn't a laughing matter… but… he reminded her so much of Schneider. She laughed with him.

After receiving Mordin Solus the next day the crew retired for the night. Except for Shepard of course. She was on the lower deck, somewhere where there wasn't any people to see herself make a fool of herself.

After scooping out the place and deciding that it was deserted she sat down and crossed her legs. She closed her eyes and concentrated. She read on the inter- er…extranet, (of course she stood up for three nights just trying to figure out how to use the damn thing), how biotics were used and how they supposedly harnessed them. The article was written by an Asari, so she most likely knew what she was talking about.

She concentrated trying to feel for the cosmic energy that she somehow harnessed. She imagined holding it into her hand, pulled a string and letting it release into her grasp. Then… BAMB! And just like that Shepard went flying through the air backwards, landing onto her back with a thud. She sat up rubbing her lower back and ass while swearing.

Damn. This wasn't going as planned. She would think this body would know how to use those damn powers with ease, or some flash memory would spring up with an instruction manual.

To her disappointment, nothing happened. No memory, not anything.

After a couple of more attempts, or more like failures, she gave up and went up the elevator to the crews deck. Food usually made her feel better.

She searched through the fridge, reading every label and wondering what the hell was the shit. CHI-CHI, Hager Light, barbecued slink, rolled onchereo… the food wasn't even recognizable, and some of it was even green. She slammed the door and kicked the bottom with anger. She barely heard a small click, wouldn't have even noticed if she didn't look down and saw she opened up someone's secret stash underneath the fridge. She smiled wickedly and bent down to look at her prize.

WHISKEY!

She giggled with delight. She grabbed a glass from a cabinet and sat down at the table near the kitchen. She poured the gold liquid from the bottle, watching as it sparkled down into the white, clear glass. Once full she brought the glass to her nose and took in the heavenly aroma that made her noise tingle ever so slightly. She brought it to her lips, tipped the glass back ever so slightly and…

"Well, isn't this a surprise. The great Commander Shepard drinking on the job." The two tone voice teased as the Turian sat down across from her, giving her a look.

Shepard glared at him. "I'm not on the job. Besides, I deserve this." She brought the glass to her lips once more but was interrupted yet again on her perfect tilt.

"Don't they have rules on human ships about alcohol? Dishonorable discharge?"

"Yes, but that's on an alliance ship. This is Cerberus and I'm running the show around here." She swallowed the drink in two gulps. She slammed the cup down and tried her best not to cough from the sting that went down her throat.

"That, you are right. Always hated those damned rules on the last Normandy." He grabbed the bottle next to her and looked at its contents. "Looking to get drunk?"

Shepard shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe."

"Never knew you were so…" he thought about it as he poured her another glass.

"Renegade?" Shepard offered.

"Not exactly, but close enough."

Shepard laughed. "Well, there are a lot of things you didn't know about me." She looked up at him, waiting for a feeling to suddenly appear out of nowhere. But to her surprise, nothing happened. She looked down at her drink and smiled. So, alcohol didn't just numb the mind and body. She swallowed half of her cup this time. She felt her cheeks turn pink.

"I guess not. If I'm not mistaken, I remember you telling me that alcohol was the last thing you would fall to when dealing with stress."

"Well," Shepard started taking down the rest of the whiskey. "Things change after you come back to life."

"Riiiight, about that," he poured another glass and gave her… a look. She didn't know what that look was, she didn't understand how they can give any look without hardly any facial structure to go off. They only thing that moved really was their jaw/mandibles and their eyes. And yet, he was giving her a look. "Word around the ships says that you were having some memory issues?"

"Maybe when I first got up," Shepard said nonchalantly, lying out of her ass. "But now I don't. Everything is crystal clear." Then she gave him a look back. Which only consisted of a raised eyebrow and a slightly squinted eye. "You've only been on the ship for one day, and all you were doing if I recall was calibrating the guns."

"Well, when you were off getting Mordin I decided to take a stroll around the new Normandy. Let's just say that everyone likes to gossip pretty loudly." He gave her that look again. Damn it. That look was annoying.

The next glass she took down like the first, but it didn't sting just as badly. When she "slammed" the cup on the table it turned over on its side and rolled off the corner edge. Shepard looked down at it and back up at Garrus. "So totally meant to do that."

His mandibles moved up, exposing his teeth even more. She guessed that was a smile. "In my own opinion, I still think you are still the same Shepard. Just more – how did you say it, _renegade?" _

She picked up her glass and set it down softly. Man, her hand was really shaky. Also, she was feeling really good. She disregard the mark about her still being the same Shepard or not. "Can I ask you something, Garrus? And can it be between you and me?"

"Sure. What's on your mind?"

"Sometimes I feel like I'm in someone else's body. Like I shouldn't be here."

He pondered over it. He crossed his finger into one another as he looked at her in the eyes. "Don't we all feel like that when all hell breaks loose? I can relate, Shepard. Back in C-sec there were some days I wondered how the hell I got there, like I should be somewhere else." He leaned back and looked away from her, his eyes distant. "Like I wasn't living my own life I wanted for myself."

Shepard looked at the liquid in her cup. Living her own life like she wanted to. She joined the army because she wanted to help people, because she wanted to make a difference. But after seeing everyone die around her and she couldn't do anything about it, she didn't know what she wanted.

"What about now?" She couldn't help but ask.

He looked back at her, his eyes coming back to reality. "Now I enjoy kicking mercs ass and running around with the great Commander Shepard. Hero of the citadel, soon to be Savior of the Galaxy."

Shepard snorted. "Sure, when pigs fly."

"… What does flying pigs have to do with anything…?"

Shepard looked up at him. He was truly confused by what she just said. She couldn't help but laugh, snorting as she did so. "You're alright, Garrus. I enjoyed our talk." She stood up taking the booze with her. When she stepped forward she almost tripped but caught herself on the table.

"Do you need a hand?" Garrus offered, standing up.

"Sorry mom, but I'm pretty sure I can tuck myself in."

Garrus smiled, "Anything for my sweaty pie."

This received yet another laugh from Shepard. She made it to the elevator with ease punching in her floor. As she waited she thought about their short but sweat conversation. He wasn't a bad guy. He reminded her so much of Schneider.

Her heart began to flutter at the thought of him and she shook his head. She guessed Garrus could be a substitute for now. At least until she got back to her real life. Maybe he could keep her sane like Schneider did.

When she made it to her floor she looked at the whiskey in her hand. Tomorrow she was going back to Omega and was going to get more of this crap. Maybe she could sleep at night without the dreams that plagued her. Dreams that weren't even hers.

At least, she didn't think they were hers.

* * *

_Authors Note: Sorry for the lateness of this chapter. I've been busy making a head sculpture of an Asari. Yep, hehe, you can see my progress of her on Deviant Art, my username is UltimateSculpture. _

_Thank you all for the reviews. Reading them wants me to write more. The next chapter will be longer with a little bit more action, and of course there will be more Garrus and Shepard's moments as well!_


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